Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We're devastated that our senior lab (11 years old) has been diagnosed with spindle cell cancer. We would like to hear from anyone who has experience with this type of cancer, what treatment you pursued and where, and how successful it was.
My understanding is that this is a very slow growing cancer and not prone to metastasize; however, I also read that it invades surrounding tissues and muscles. Dusty’s tumor is on the inside thigh and rather large. It was being watched as a “fatty tumor” (was aspirated some months ago). Now it was aspirated again due to its continued growth, and suspicious cells were sent to the lab. The report came back as “spindle cell tumor”. Vet says although it's slow growing it needs to be removed.
She says there isn't enough skin to pull it together after surgery so she'll have to do a skin graft from higher on the thigh. This all sounds pretty extensive to me.
He has severe dysplasia in shoulders and hips and is on tramadol and prevacox. He's coping amazingly well and is such a happy dog, always in good spirits. We're concerned about the outlook considering his age and condition. He has lumps and bumps elsewhere on his body, all of which have been aspirated and are OK as of this date, but who knows when some of them could develop into spindle cells. How much do we put our beloved dog through at his age? It's not the cost. We have the means. It's his quality of life that we're concerned with.
Our first lab died of lymphoma at age 8, and now here we are facing cancer again. It's heartbreaking.
Anyone with personal experience who would like to share, please do so either here or in dm. I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Hi - our 9 year old beagle has been diagnosed with spindle cell carcinoma (low grade). He had the tumor removed about 10 days ago and we are awaiting his stitches to be removed shortly. We are anxiously awaiting further info from our vet. He had the tumor on the inside of his foot. Our vet removed as much as possible, but cannot go in and do it again. In the event it grows back, she has suggested radiation. We are considering it. Currently he is on tramadol for pain. Prior to this, I don't think he was in any pain. Good luck with your lab. We recently put down a chocolate lab so I am very distraught about this new item for our beagle. I'll pray for both of us.
beezermommy, I'm sorry to hear of your beagle's illness. I wish you some more good years with him.
We were told the only way to get the entire tumor was to amputate his leg, then follow up with twice weekly radiation. At his age, we weren't going to do that to him. After extensive consultations with top people in the field (univ vet school too), and holistic vets, we opted for the holistic route to keep him happy and comfortable as long as we could. I had lost track of his age, but looked it up in his records. I thought he was 11 going on 12, but actually he was 14 at time of diagnosis. He turned 15 this spring, which is pretty good age for a lab! He used to be on tramadol, but hasn't needed it since we started holistic treatments. I cook for him, since the high quality kibble we fed, though low in grains, still had some grains. Carbs feed cancer, so he is off all carbs. He gets a combination of anti-inflammatory vegetables and fish or beef or both. Chicken is very inflammatory (as is all poultry). His body support supplements, a mix of traditional and Chinese herbals, are all lined up on the kitchen counter, handy for meal preparation. He eats well, is in good spirits, energy levels are those of a pup. He gets B12 injections when needed, occasional accupuncture, homeopathic meds. It's been 7 months since the diagnosis, and we were told he probably had 6 months at the most. So far, so good. Every day that he can catch a tennis ball, romp in the grass and beg a bone is a good day. He even likes to play with our other dogs.
We have added a new med (holistic) which has shown in recent studies to actually shrink a tumor. We'll see how that goes.
I hope your baby does well. Since your vet couldn't get all of the tumor (it's very difficult to get it all), see if you have a holistic vet in your area. A consult is worth it. Perhaps you can keep the tumor confined, or keep it from regrowing. Remember, something as simple as eliminating bad carbs can help! If you want to know more about holistic treatments, send me a dm. I'll send you specifics that you can discuss with your vet. Good luck and God bless.
8 Year old Golden Retriever lump - spindle cell tumour
Quote:
Originally Posted by southward bound
We're devastated that our senior lab (11 years old) has been diagnosed with spindle cell cancer. We would like to hear from anyone who has experience with this type of cancer, what treatment you pursued and where, and how successful it was.
My understanding is that this is a very slow growing cancer and not prone to metastasize; however, I also read that it invades surrounding tissues and muscles. Dusty’s tumor is on the inside thigh and rather large. It was being watched as a “fatty tumor” (was aspirated some months ago). Now it was aspirated again due to its continued growth, and suspicious cells were sent to the lab. The report came back as “spindle cell tumor”. Vet says although it's slow growing it needs to be removed.
She says there isn't enough skin to pull it together after surgery so she'll have to do a skin graft from higher on the thigh. This all sounds pretty extensive to me.
He has severe dysplasia in shoulders and hips and is on tramadol and prevacox. He's coping amazingly well and is such a happy dog, always in good spirits. We're concerned about the outlook considering his age and condition. He has lumps and bumps elsewhere on his body, all of which have been aspirated and are OK as of this date, but who knows when some of them could develop into spindle cells. How much do we put our beloved dog through at his age? It's not the cost. We have the means. It's his quality of life that we're concerned with.
Hi, not sure how to do this, but after reading your post I feel like this is a mirror image of our situation, Tyler my 8 year old Golden Retriever was diagonosed with the same spindle cell tumour, it is on his back very close to his spine. I just wondered how you were getting on and what you decided to do, because this is my third Goldie that I am going to lose to Cancer, so devastating, why is the owners that look after their dogs so well that suffer the most !!. We are returning to Langford Vetinary College tomorrow to discuss our options, any info anyone can give I would be so grateful. so so very sad
Our first lab died of lymphoma at age 8, and now here we are facing cancer again. It's heartbreaking.
Anyone with personal experience who would like to share, please do so either here or in dm. I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks in advance.
I too have a 8 year goldie and he had a lump removed last week, results have come back as spindle cell tumour, lump was on his back, am returning to vet tomorrow for discussion on what to do next. how are you getting on
"So far, so good. Every day that he can catch a tennis ball, romp in the grass and beg a bone is a good day. He even likes to play with our other dogs."
Tylers mum,
Sometimes it's best to measure the time you have left in pain free moments for your furry family member.
Our first dog had a lump in her mouth many years ago. She was 12. It was biopsied and the results were inconclusive. It was removed and was in fact a cancer but after the excision it regrew rapidly and got much larger. There were all kinds of scenarios to treat that involved removing part of her jaw that sounded horrific and we did not want to put her through any more so we fed her very soft food, gave her prophylactic antibiotics and pain meds. She lived another 4 months until it was time.
Our second dog started getting bloody noses four years ago. We found that it was nasal cancer. We elected to do nothing rash but started her on meds that studies indicate the potential to slow tumor growth and kept her comfortable. We had about 9 months before it was time. She was 8. The thing with the second dog was that until the last maybe month and a half, I don't think she knew that she was really sick. If I had it to do over again. I would not have had anything surgical at all done to our first dog.
Our old dog, the second dog's sister is 12 and a bit arthritic, but otherwise seems happy and healthy. I figure that if she gets cancer or anything else requiring major intervention to "treat", we are going to accept that it's her time and keep her comfortable for as long as possible. I will probably go that road myself when I'm elderly. I'm sorry for our bad news and I hope you have a long time yet with your beloved pet. Best of luck.
Tyler's mum, I wish you good times with your goldie as long as possible, and wisdom in choosing your course of treatment.
We opted for the holistic route with an excellent vet. Our lab is every bit as happy and energetic as he ever was. His age is 12, but his attitude is "puppy". We are into October, 10 months after diagnosis, and he's not showing any signs of slowing down. We are very glad with the choice we made about treatment.
Hi I am so sorry to read about everyone's dogs and I really hope they are doing okay. I was looking for some advice and hope you could possibly help.
I have a five-year-old cocker spaniel, 6 weeks I found a lump on his bum the top near his tail took him straight to the vets who operated. four weeks later it grew back, then when they were operating they discovered it had spread internally, so they didnt remove any of it until they did a biopsy. The results came back today woth spindle cell tumour. They have me two choices today, I can either give him painkillers and keep him comfortable then him put to sleep, but the rates it's grown that'd be within weeks. Or they can operate again but by operating because the tumours on his bum they'd need to remove half his anus and they don't know how much discomfort that will cause him in the future and If it will grow back and at what rate.
He is still extremely active, eating, drinking and just his usual self.
Any help or advice would be amazing, money is not a problem I just don't want to put him through unneccsary suffering but also don't wanna cut his life short, because he's still very young.
Hi I am so sorry to read about everyone's dogs and I really hope they are doing okay. I was looking for some advice and hope you could possibly help.
I have a five-year-old cocker spaniel, 6 weeks I found a lump on his bum the top near his tail took him straight to the vets who operated. four weeks later it grew back, then when they were operating they discovered it had spread internally, so they didnt remove any of it until they did a biopsy. The results came back today woth spindle cell tumour. They have me two choices today, I can either give him painkillers and keep him comfortable then him put to sleep, but the rates it's grown that'd be within weeks. Or they can operate again but by operating because the tumours on his bum they'd need to remove half his anus and they don't know how much discomfort that will cause him in the future and If it will grow back and at what rate.
He is still extremely active, eating, drinking and just his usual self.
Any help or advice would be amazing, money is not a problem I just don't want to put him through unneccsary suffering but also don't wanna cut his life short, because he's still very young.
Kind Regards
Rachel
Rachel, we are still doing well. Our lab is slowing down, but walking, playing, managing the back deck steps (5 steps) quite well, most of the time on his own, though sometimes we have to help him up a step or two.
We are so glad we didn't have his leg amputated! It's been a year since the diagnosis and he's now on a new supplement that has been shown in studies to shrink or slow down the growth of the tumor. We will see how that goes. The tumor is on the inside of his rear stifle, and though it has grown in the past year, it does not interfere with his walking. His appetite is great (gets NO carbs!), coat is shiny and soft, nose has almost regained all its black pigmentation (was spotted pink for 12 years of his life)
His weight is optimal at 64 lbs and we are maintaining it there.
As we go into the second year of holistic treatment, we are optimistic and hopeful that he will still hang in there for some time. We did talk to the vet about possibility of reducing the size of the tumor, but that is not advisable since it tends to make it grow faster.
Good luck, and send me dm if you want to know what holistic supplements he's on.
I found this post while searching for spindle cell tumour info for my 8 yr old female yellow lab, Lucy. She had surgery in July 2012, and now the vet has found spindle cells in three more lumps. I am hesitant to put her through another surgery so soon, and this will be in three different areas of her body, so I assume the discomfort and recovery time will be greater. She also has hip dysplasia and ACL problems, as well as food allergies. She sounds like a mess, but she is happy and we love her dearly. I am interested in holistic approaches to this situation, and curious as to what supplements may be helpful, to delay or eliminate the need for surgery. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
I found this post while searching for spindle cell tumour info for my 8 yr old female yellow lab, Lucy. She had surgery in July 2012, and now the vet has found spindle cells in three more lumps. I am hesitant to put her through another surgery so soon, and this will be in three different areas of her body, so I assume the discomfort and recovery time will be greater. She also has hip dysplasia and ACL problems, as well as food allergies. She sounds like a mess, but she is happy and we love her dearly. I am interested in holistic approaches to this situation, and curious as to what supplements may be helpful, to delay or eliminate the need for surgery. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Sent you a dm.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
He even likes to play with our other dogs.
8 Year old Golden Retriever lump - spindle cell tumour
